Market Wrap: Traders Buy the Dip and Bitcoin Holds at $9,200
Bitcoin sticks to the $9,200 price range after some light selling early in the day.
"Now anyone could be an investor in one of the most cutting-edge technology companies out there. All they needed was an internet connection and at least 0.01 bitcoin."
It’s unclear if the Aug. 14 virtual meeting is related to a rumored plan to take Coinbase public, but such events often presage direct listings.
Money requires a network effect, helped by the self-reinforcing idea that “everyone’s using it because everyone’s using it.”
Chaincode Labs researcher Clara Shikhelman has been studying mathematics in university since she was 14 years old. Now, as the bitcoin company’s newest post-doctoral fellow, she is exploring ways to optimize the Lightning Network.
Based on "real volume" from eight reputable exchanges, these 20 digital assets attract most of the sector's legitimate trading activity.
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How to Value Bitcoin: Days Destroyed
Jul 8, 2020
How to place a value on bitcoin? Its data are unfamiliar territory for many investors. In a recent investor survey by a well-known financial institution, nearly half said a lack of fundamentals keeps them from participating. In this webinar, we look at one of the first and oldest unique data points to be developed by crypto asset analysts: Bitcoin Days Destroyed. We’re joined by Lucas Nuzzi, a veteran analyst and a network data expert at Coin Metrics. In a 30-minute webinar Lucas and CoinDesk Research will walk you through the structure of this unique fundamental, and demonstrate some of its many applications. Watch the full recording of our webinar on How to Value Bitcoin: Bitcoin Days Destroyed.
CoinDesk Interviews Acting OCC Chief Brian Brooks
What Is a Decentralized Autonomous Organization?
Consensus: Distributed Highlights – Here's What You Missed
What Is Decentralized Finance? Learn at Consensus: Distributed, Unlocked
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‘I Failed Terribly at Keeping My Identity Secret’: Scott Alexander on the Value of Pseudonymity
A New York Times decision to name Scott Alexander, the author of Slate Star Codex, raises questions about who deserves pseudonyms, journalism in 2020 and where we place value when it comes to news stories.
Brazilian Hedge Fund Still Down 56%, Despite 16 Months of Crypto Gains
BLP Asset Management’s returns are a reminder that cryptocurrency funds that took a hit in 2018 when prices of digital currencies crashed have a harder time getting back to sea level than those buoyed by 2017’s cresting market gains.
First Mover: ECB Stimulus May Offer Market Hope After Bitcoin Fails (Again) to Break $10K
After another failure above the $10,000 mark, some bitcoin traders are now looking ahead to this week's European Central Bank meeting, where authorities could commit to an extra €500 billion in money injections – er, asset purchases.
‘We Need 30 Different Words for Censorship,’ Feat. Andreas M. Antonopoulos
The rallying cry of the totalitarian is "He farted first", but if both systems have produced similar outcomes, is there much of a difference? Today's wide-ranging discussion features Stephanie Murphy, Jonathan Mohan, Adam B. Levine and Andreas M. Antonopoulos
The Battle for the Future of Money, Feat. Lawrence Summers, CZ, Michelle Phan, the Winklevoss Brothers, The Chainsmokers and More
As the current economic crisis comes into clearer focus, how leading voices from pop culture to crypto including Carlota Perez, The Chainsmokers, Ray Yousseff and many others are reimaging money.
Crypto Long & Short: Innovation Cycles, Crypto Venture Funds and Institutional Investors
With so much attention on institutional involvement in crypto asset markets, we overlook they are already here through VC investments – less fast-paced, perhaps, but important to keep an eye on for what they reveal about cycles.
The Problem With Money Is ‘Too Much Privacy,’ Says Ex-US Treasury Secretary Summers
Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers said there may be “too much privacy” associated with government-issued cash, noting the prevalence of money laundering and its widespread use for storing and moving the proceeds from corruption.
3 Straight Record Days Drive CME Bitcoin Futures Open Interest to All-Time High
Open interest for CME bitcoin futures made a new all-time high of just under $500 million on Friday. CME’s bitcoin futures market are growing faster than nearly every other bitcoin futures market on a percentage and real growth basis.
‘Massive Adoption’ Conference Organizer Sued After Refund Delays
A lawsuit filed by David Silver on behalf of Massive Adoption attendees alleges fraud, unjust enrichment and breach of contract on the part of organizer Jacob Kostecki after they did not receive refunds for the canceled crypto conference.
Blockfolio Quietly Patches Years-Old Security Hole That Exposed Source Code
The security vulnerability, which appeared in older versions of its application, could have allowed a bad actor to steal closed source code and possibly inject their own code into Blockfolio’s Github repository and, from there, into the app itself.
Arweave 2.0 Gets File Storage Project One Step Closer to Its ‘Library of Alexandria’ Dreams
Arweave operates on the same idea as other blockchain-based file storage services such as Filecoin or Storj, but with far larger ambitions backed by new technical developments unveiled Wednesday as Arweave 2.0.
Silvergate Adds 46 More Crypto Clients in Q1 While Existing Customers Increase Deposit Levels
Silvergate Bank added 46 crypto customers in the first quarter and saw fee income and deposits increase from those customers because of “Black Thursday,” according to its earnings report released before market open on Wednesday.
Lightning Network Messaging, Political Expediency and What Crisis Has Revealed
In a time of increasing censorship aimed towards protecting us, is truly private messaging possible? Why are we using "data driven" approaches when we know the data is wrong? Juggernaut's John Cantrell and HRF's Alex Gladstein help us see what the crisis has revealed.
Starting a Bitcoin Startup During the COVID-19 Crisis, Feat. Yan Pritzker
With companies closing, unemployment rising and investors spooked in the age of the pandemic, NLW speaks with Swan BTC co-founder Yan Pritzker about the experience of launching a startup in the hyper-competitive world of Bitcoin.
Ripple Sues YouTube for Allowing ‘Scams’ That Promise Free XRP
Ripple Labs and CEO Brad Garlinghouse are suing YouTube over allegations that the video streaming giant has failed to police its platform against fake XRP giveaway scams, resulting in monetary damage to users and reputational harm to Ripple.
Blockchain Bites: Canaan and Galaxy Digital Report Losses, Fold Joins Visa and Indian Exchange Volume Skyrockets
Today, Canaan and Galaxy Digital reported quarterly losses, Huobi announced a legally compliant way to reenter the U.S. market, and Binance denies stealing $1 million from one of its users.
Coronavirus Second Order Effects and Improving on Bitcoin With BitTorrent Creator Bram Cohen
BitTorrent creator and Chia CEO Bram Cohen joins the hosts of Let's Talk Bitcoin! To discuss the limitations of Satoshi's approach to Nakamoto consensus, how he believes it can be improved and the lasting impacts of coronavirus lockdowns.
How MakerDAO’s Stablecoin Survived the Crash, Smart Contract Bugs and Full Decentralization
How do DeFi stablecoins actually work and what happened during the sudden, precipitous drop in crypto prices earlier this month? On today's show Andreas M. Antonopoulos leads us through a very interesting system and how it survived 'Black Thursday'.
Hyperinflation and Zimbabwe’s Multi-Currency Reality: Bitcoin in Africa Podcast, Part 2
After three weeks of listening, recording and talking bitcoin (BTC) in Africa, podcaster Anita Posch is back in part 2 of her six-part documentary podcast series. Presented in audio and full written transcript formats.
8 US States Follow DHS in Naming ‘Blockchain Managers’ as Essential Employees in Coronavirus Crisis
At least eight U.S. states have directed “blockchain managers” in food and agriculture to keep working through COVID-19 shutdowns following guidance from the Department of Homeland Security, though it remains unclear who this includes.
‘Anything That Can Be Decentralized Will Be Decentralized’ 6 Years Later
After one of the most challenging weeks in recent memory we're talking about a new consensus-driven approach to DeFi oracles and revisiting Johnston's Law (anything that can be decentralized will be decentralized) with the man who coined the phrase so many years ago.
The US Needs Hester Peirce’s Safe Harbor, or It Risks Falling Behind
A Beijing lawyer calls on the SEC to consider Hester Peirce's Safe Harbor proposal, which exempts startups from securities law while starting up. Without greater certainty around token sales, the U.S. risks falling behind other jurisdictions in blockchain commerce.
US Treasury Department Blacklists 20 Bitcoin Addresses Tied to Alleged North Korean Hackers
The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Asset Control has added two individuals and 20 bitcoin addresses to its sanctions list, accusing them of being part of the North Korea-affiliated Lazarus Group.
Coronavirus Impacts on Bitcoin (And the IRS’s Dumb Singularity)
Andreas M. Antonopoulos, Stephanie Murphy and Adam B. Levine discuss coronavirus and its potential impacts or disruptions to the decentralized world of bitcoin. Plus a humorous look at the IRS's challenges as it lumps together bitcoin and... Ro-Bux?
How Bitcoin Is Used to Promote Human Rights: Stories From Activists and Refugees
CoinDesk reporter Leigh Cuen is joined by the Human Rights Foundation’s Alex Gladstein and Syrian entrepreneur Moe Ghashim to discuss how cultural context shapes the way people view bitcoin, including stories from the Middle East.
Mind the Gap: Why ETH Price and DeFi Adoption Aren’t in Sync
Demand for DeFi lending services built on ethereum shows a pattern of inverse relationship to the price of ETH. When ether prices are falling, the amount of ETH locked in DeFi tends to rise. Most recent data indicate the relationship operates the other way, too.
IOTA Foundation Suspends Network, Probes Fund Theft in Trinity Wallet
The German nonprofit, which supports several decentralized platforms, said it received several reports of fund theft from its Trinity Wallet users and decided to shut off the Coordinator node in the network for further investigation.
Puppets, Pundits and Partnerships: Why Crypto Sentiment and Prices Are Soaring
With blockchain puppets (we really mean it) on TV, CNBC pushing the bitcoin-as-gold narrative and The Guardian seeing connections between coronavirus and bitcoin's recent rally, we've got a lot to talk about on today's episode of The Breakdown.
DISCUSSION: US Crypto Taxes Are a Nightmare. Could These Proposals Help?
Nobody likes taxes but for U.S.-based blockchain users things can be particularly awful. This week we discuss U.S. tax treatment of "virtual currencies" and how scams find a home wherever opportunity exists, at least for a while.
‘95% Confidence’: Ethereum Developers Pencil In July 2020 for Eth 2.0 Launch
Ethereum’s next system-wide upgrade, Eth 2.0, won’t launch in Q2 2020 as expected, but researchers remain confident the initial network parameters will deploy in 2020. Anything less would be considered a “failure,” they said.
Germany’s BaFin Clarifies Licensing Process for Foreign Crypto Custodians
In its latest guidance released in January, the regulator said firms already custodying digital assets for Germans would not be penalized for not having a license. Instead, they’d be grandfathered into the same protection that crypto custody firms based in Germany already have under the new law.
How Fund Managers View Lending and Staking: 3 Takeaways From a CoinDesk Research Webinar
In December, we invited two fund managers, both long bitcoin and other crypto assets, for a CoinDesk Research webinar on lending and staking. Jordan Clifford of Scalar Capital and Kyle Samani of Multicoin Capital joined us to discuss how they evaluate risk and returns in crypto lending and staking, what crypto assets' risk-free rate might look like, and what DeFi needs to do to attract investors and new users.
Better Regulation Could Curb Crypto Scams, Chainalysis Report Says
Chainalysis’ 2019 crime report found illicit activities accounted for roughly 1 percent of overall crypto transactions last year, and better enforcement of anti-money laundering and know-your-customer regulations could stamp out a large portion of that.
Alleged Crypto Ponzi OneCoin May Have Used Flood of Fake Reviews to Boost Ailing Image
The OneCoin cryptocurrency project – accused by authorities of being a Ponzi scheme – may have attempted to counter negative news by using "inauthentic" accounts to place favorable reviews on TrustPilot and Quora, according to new research.
Digital Chamber Asks Court to Draw Line Between Investment Contracts and Assets in Telegram Case
The Chamber of Digital Commerce, a blockchain advocacy group, wants a U.S. court to distinguish between an investment contract and the underlying asset used by Telegram during a 2018 initial coin offering.
Crypto Analytics Firm Elliptic to Tell US Congress Privacy Coins Need Stricter AML Rules
Elliptic head of policy Liat Shetret will recommend that the U.S. push for greater enforcement of anti-money laundering regulation of crypto exchanges, including for traders using privacy coins, in a Congressional hearing on human trafficking.
WisdomTree Mulls New Stablecoin as US Money Manager Drives Toward Crypto
WisdomTree, an asset manager specializing in exchange-traded funds, is vying to become one of the first established U.S. financial firms to offer clients digital assets, including a so-called stablecoin whose value is closely linked to the U.S. dollar.
Founder of Bitmain Rival MicroBT Arrested for Alleged Embezzlement
The arrest, noted by the Shenzhen Nanshan District Prosecutor on Dec. 12 and reported by business publication Caixin on Sunday, comes amid ongoing battles between mining giant Bitmain and MicroBT, which has been a rising competitor this year challenging Bitmain's market dominance.
MARKETS DAILY: Nike and the ECB Are Thinking With Tokens
With markets continuing their slide, today we're looking at NIke's recent tokenized shoe patent and the ECB's digital currency discussions. Later, we're joined by CoinDesk analyst Galen Moore for some insight into exchange fees, token listings and more...
MARKETS DAILY: How Bitcoin Diversification Is Helping Traditional Portfolios
With the market set for another down day, we're talking new data on Bitcoin diversification for traditional portfolios, taking a look at shifting tactics in the mining hardware industry, traditional bonds issued, then redeemed on the Ethereum blockchain, and more...
Mnuchin’s Number Two Says Private Cryptos Pose Threat to Government Power and Will Be Watched
The deputy secretary of the U.S. Treasury has raised the specter of a not-so-distant future when private digital currencies have stripped some of the power from governments. Policymakers will take a "hard look" at that, he said.
China Central Bank to Set Standards for 17 Fintech Categories, Including Blockchain
The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) has an agenda to set industry standards across the financial sector, including blockchain, a senior official from the bank said on Wednesday. Speaking at a meeting of the National Technical Committee, PBoC vice president Yifei Fan said the bank aims to better regulate new technologies applied across the financial […]
As Crypto Markets Go Cold, Who Will Pay for Open-Source Code?
Formerly a CoinDesk Contributing Editor, Daniel Cawrey is author of the upcoming “Mastering Blockchain” book to be published by O’Reilly Media. Earlier this year IBM purchased Red Hat, the oft-referred to model for how open source can thrive, for $34 billion. Long the consultant to enterprises, IBM is going through a transitional period as a […]
Pieter Wuille Unveils ‘Miniscript,’ A New Smart Contract Language for Bitcoin
Smart contracts could soon get a boost in bitcoin as prominent programmer Pieter Wuille has unveiled a new coding language designed specifically for their use. Posted to the bitcoin developer mailing list Monday, the ‘Miniscript’ language aims to make it easier for programmers to write up “smart contracts” or conditions for spending bitcoins. Programmers Wuille, Andrew […]
Lightning Labs Designs Monitoring Tool for ‘Layer 2’ Bitcoin Network
The lightning network, seen as the future of bitcoin payments, is now a bit easier to monitor. This Wednesday, Lightning Labs released a new network analysis tool dubbed “Lndmon” that bitcoin lightning network users can use to pull up data about the state of their node and the rest of the network. The offering features […]
